


Target Practice

by ilithiyarys



Series: Partners [1]
Category: Chicago PD (TV)
Genre: F/M, Oneshot, Shooting Range, Target Practice, lead up to 7x04, partners doing partner things, sniper!hailey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:21:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24459628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilithiyarys/pseuds/ilithiyarys
Summary: After a tough case and a long day of work, Jay and Hailey decide to blow off some steam by hitting the shooting range. Towards the end of their session, Hailey comes across Jay’s beloved sniper rifle. Intrigued by her curiosity, Jay challenges her with a bet. inspired by @bleedinghearthalstead's sniper!hailey post on tumblr!
Relationships: Jay Halstead/Hailey Upton
Series: Partners [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1766698
Comments: 4
Kudos: 73





	Target Practice

“You know that’s a military grade rifle, right?” Jay cautioned, as Hailey pulled the rifle out of its case.

“Yeah, and your point?” She retorted.

The brunette shrugged, helping her set it up. “I don’t know, I’m not one to judge your sharp shooting skills but you weren’t necessarily trained in the military. I mean - do you even know how to use this?” he quipped, pointing to the massive rifle.

The corner of her mouth formed into a playful smirk. “You’re an asshole, Halstead,”

“Not an asshole, just cautious. I mean... She’s my baby,” he joked, pretending to cradle it.

Hailey furrowed her brow. “Jay, it’s a sniper rifle. Jesus, you sound like such a redneck,”

Feigning hurt, Jay rolled his eyes and smiled.

“Okay, hotshot. Give it a try,” he prompted, handing her the rifle. She knelt on the ground, setting up her area. At the same time, Jay knelt down and sat beside her, scoping out the field. He pointed out to the target set a far distance away from the range.

“Thousand-meter target. You hit the bullseye, I give you free reign to use my rifle at work whenever we get into a situation where I need backup from a distance, and I’ll know that you’ll have my back. You miss, you owe me a hundred bucks and a round of drinks after we’re done here. Deal?”

She slapped him on the shoulder. “What? Are you kidding me, I don’t wanna _owe_ you a hundred bucks!”

The brunette pulled back, holding his arm. “Ow - hey! What, bullets are expensive!”

The petite blonde rolled her eyes.

“So this is a test. Some partner you are,” Hailey mumbled under her breath. Jay grinned, confident that his partner wouldn’t be able to shoot a perfect bullseye; at least not from this distance. Other than basic standardized police weapons training, there was no need for cops to know how to shoot long range unless you were special forces or SWAT. There was just no way she’d gotten in the proper training as a detective.

At the same time, Hailey sensed that Jay was undermining her ability. He knew quite a bit about her at this point in their partnership, but what he didn’t know was that she’d managed to squeeze in the extra weapons training right before her year-long undercover op all those years ago. Sniping was surprisingly, her best skill. With her smaller form, she was incredibly stable and was able to control her heart rate and breathing. And with her left-handedness, using a rifle that was designed and built for right-handed shooters, the safety and mag release would be on the right side of the rifle, getting the extra hardware out of her hand’s way. Less margin for error. So she found herself with the advantage. In other words,

_Piece. Of. Cake._

However, she continued to play into Jay’s little game.

“So? What do you say?” He cheekily prompted.

“Fine. Deal.”

She took a moment to prepare herself; placing her noise-cancelling earplugs in, setting her sights on the target, and making all the necessary adjustments on the rifle.

Hailey was dialed and locked in.

Jay noticed how comfortable she was. His eyes widened, suddenly realizing he’d been played.

_Oh my God. She knows how to use it. She can snipe._

Part of him was nervous. How could he have read this entire situation so, so wrong?

_Your big ass ego got in the way again, dumbass._

He shook the thought off. Yet, the other part of him had nothing but respect for his partner.

She was handling it like a pro.

The blonde pulled on the bolt handle to load a bullet into the chamber, lacing her finger around the trigger. She inhaled from her nostrils, and slowly exhaled from her mouth. As she came up on the end of her exhale, she pulled the trigger.

Jay’s jaw dropped, as the bullet tore dead centre through the target. He almost had to do a double take through his binoculars - he couldn’t believe what he just saw.

_Bullseye._

And her execution was _flawless_.

Hailey pulled the handle again, releasing the bullet casing from the chamber.

“You owe me a hundred bucks,” she casually shrugged.

Jay was still speechless as she got up and handed the rifle back to him.

_This wasn't her first rodeo._

When he finally snapped out of it, he complimented her.

“Okay. I owe you a hundred dollars and a round of drinks. Damn, Hailey. I knew you were good but I didn’t think you were _this_ good,”

The blonde laughed. “What can I say? I like being underestimated,”

“Yeah, I’ll never do that again,” he nodded, grinning. “Three years as partners, and I still know so little about you.”

“Slow and steady. Can’t have my partner knowing all my secrets right away,” she giggled. Seconds later, her expression faded into a softer, serious one. “Jay, for real though - you know I’m always going to have your back. Regardless of you knowing my ability to operate a sniper rifle or not,”

Her eyes followed his.

“I know, Hails. I trust you with my life completely," he paused, packing up the area. "But before we go, you gotta tell me how you got the training for this. It's going to kill me,"

She cheekily grinned. "We'll see,"

They both laughed as they packed up to leave the range and head out for drinks. Jay Halstead was now one hundred dollars poorer.

Months later, Jay found himself in the middle of a hostage situation after a long day of hunting down a crazed scientist. But Jay wasn’t worried - he knew his partner was right outside on another rooftop watching from a scope from afar, holding his life in her hands.

And he trusted her completely.

**Author's Note:**

> quick disclaimer, i know nothing about guns or the parts and where they'd be positioned. i literally just made some shit up about the sniper rifle to fit the narrative haha. other than stuff i'd seen and played on call of duty, i really don't know much. i also don't know what the proper weapons training cops would undergo for certification, just thought it would be a fun little bonus if hailey happened to just have the training and explore her past with my imagination. anyway, i hope you enjoyed that! i've never written parts of a series before and i'm definitely into this idea so more to come with this fun partners series!


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